Northern Ontario developments! - Page 188

wave46 · #**3741** Posted **Oct 2, 2019, 3:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

That is how all twinning is.

I seem to remember Highway 11 south of North Bay and Highway 69 being quite different on my travels to Toronto prior to 2000.

In fact, I'd say that the bulk of my travel on 69 went from 2-lane highway to 4-lane speedway from then to now.

Dengler Avenue · #**3742** Posted **Oct 2, 2019, 3:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunder_Bay_Expressway
1970s.

Ok, lets do P3s... Still won't get done quickly.

I think Nova Scotia's Cobequid Pass just raised my expectations way too much. These guys were building it at a rate of 27 (!) km per year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wave46

I seem to remember Highway 11 south of North Bay and Highway 69 being quite different on my travels to Toronto prior to 2000.

In fact, I'd say that the bulk of my travel on 69 went from 2-lane highway to 4-lane speedway from then to now.

Maybe when it comes to highways, NEO gets it done more quickly than NWO, simply because NEO's more connected to the rest of Southern Ontario. NWO? Not so much. The fact that there are even a few short segments of divided highways in NWO is already pretty impressive.

wave46 · #**3743** Posted **Oct 2, 2019, 3:40 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Maybe when it comes to highways, NEO gets it done more quickly than NWO, simply because NEO's more connected to the rest of Southern Ontario. NWO? Not so much. The fact that there are even a few short segments of divided highways in NWO is already pretty impressive.

It's somewhere in that blurry line between politics and actual necessity, I imagine.

Where it is, we could debate forever.

swimmer_spe · #**3744** Posted **Oct 2, 2019, 11:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wave46

I seem to remember Highway 11 south of North Bay and Highway 69 being quite different on my travels to Toronto prior to 2000.

In fact, I'd say that the bulk of my travel on 69 went from 2-lane highway to 4-lane speedway from then to now.

That is because they are close to Toronto and Southern Ontario. They are part of the northern stretches of Cottage Country, and so it makes the richer voters like the government.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

I think Nova Scotia's Cobequid Pass just raised my expectations way too much. These guys were building it at a rate of 27 (!) km per year.

Yes, and charged you to pass through it. And made it illegal to use the secondary highways for all large vehicles.

The amount of traffic going in and out of NS vs crossing Canada is a very good reason not to do that.

Dengler Avenue · #**3745** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 12:22 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

That is because they are close to Toronto and Southern Ontario. They are part of the northern stretches of Cottage Country, and so it makes the richer voters like the government.

For Sudbury, thankfully, I think we all agree that the economic case is there. Political one as well.

For North Bay, the economic case is stretching it.

For Thunder Bay, ...

I mean, if people aren’t bothered that TCH is the only link between Western and Eastern Canada...

Quote:

Yes, and charged you to pass through it. And made it illegal to use the secondary highways for all large vehicles.

The amount of traffic going in and out of NS vs crossing Canada is a very good reason not to do that.

I just remembered you lived in Halifax for a bit too. I thought N.S. only banned trucks on Trunk 4 through Wentworth Valley? Trunk 2 is still open to truck traffic right?

Ps: I like the fact that you’re knowledgeable about most of the stuff that I wanna talk about simply because you’ve been running around the country.

I don’t quite get the last part. To do what? Tolls or P3 (or both)?

At least it’s finally about to come off.

==========

By the way, any news on Maley Drive Extension? Open to traffic yet? Also what’s with the Costco at Sudbury not having a gas station? The one time I went (recently), I ended up gassing up at Petro Canada. Oh boy $1.277/L... (How do you guys even survive up there...)

wave46 · #**3746** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 12:42 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

By the way, any news on Maley Drive Extension? Open to traffic yet? Also what’s with the Costco at Sudbury not having a gas station? The one time I went (recently), I ended up gassing up at Petro Canada. Oh boy $1.277/L... (How do you guys even survive up there...)

Maley Drive extension = end of 2019.

Costco is enough of a zoo - don't need a gas station there.

I'll console myself with paying 10-15 cents more per litre with the fact that houses cost hundreds of thousands of dollars less here. Considering I spend less than $100/mo. on gas usually, I'm not fretting a few bucks.

Dengler Avenue · #**3747** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 12:47 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wave46

Considering I spend less than $100/mo. on gas usually, I'm not fretting a few bucks.

Do you go to work without driving? (I guess that’s doable in North Bay where you live.)

As for swimmer_spe, lol...

wave46 · #**3748** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 12:51 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Do you go to work without driving? (I guess that’s doable in North Bay where you live.)

As for swimmer_spe, lol...

Nope. I drive - working shift work pretty much eliminates transit for me.

A Mazda3 doesn't take more than ~40L of fuel per fill up and on a good month I drive less than 1000km (last month I'm closer to 600km).

Dengler Avenue · #**3749** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 1:02 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wave46

Nope. I drive - working [/I]shift work[I] pretty much eliminates transit for me.

Now I can see where your nuanced view on politics (especially insistence on healthcare and prudent spending)* comes from.

People like you and MonctonRad are really in a tough spot.
* If that sentence doesn’t make sense, it’s probably because I’m trying to fit a bunch of words in it.

Quote:

A Mazda3 doesn't take more than ~40L of fuel per fill up and on a good month I drive less than 1000km (last month I'm closer to 600km).

Assuming that 40L gets you to go 400 km, you only need 2.5 fill-ups.

Gas price at $1.3/L.

$1.3/L * 40 L/ 400 km * 1000 km = $130 per month. It’s not too bad compared to the huge reduction in housing cost.

swimmer_spe · #**3750** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 1:11 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

For Sudbury, thankfully, I think we all agree that the economic case is there. Political one as well.

For North Bay, the economic case is stretching it.

For Thunder Bay, ...

I mean, if people aren’t bothered that TCH is the only link between Western and Eastern Canada...

I just remembered you lived in Halifax for a bit too. I thought N.S. only banned trucks on Trunk 4 through Wentworth Valley? Trunk 2 is still open to truck traffic right?

Ps: I like the fact that you’re knowledgeable about most of the stuff that I wanna talk about simply because you’ve been running around the country.

I don’t quite get the last part. To do what? Tolls or P3 (or both)?

At least it’s finally about to come off.

==========

By the way, any news on Maley Drive Extension? Open to traffic yet? Also what’s with the Costco at Sudbury not having a gas station? The one time I went (recently), I ended up gassing up at Petro Canada. Oh boy $1.277/L... (How do you guys even survive up there...)

The P3 for the Cobequid pass resulted in a toll section. Yes, you could take the much longer Trunk 2, but that is not very reasonable. So, lets say we made a 4 lane highway between Thunder Bay and the existing 4 lanes in MB. Lets say in the middle, was a toll booth. Is that a reasonable thing for a highway that connects Eastern and Western Canada? If that is the case, let's toll Highway 401.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wave46

Maley Drive extension = end of 2019.

Costco is enough of a zoo - don't need a gas station there.

I'll console myself with paying 10-15 cents more per litre with the fact that houses cost hundreds of thousands of dollars less here. Considering I spend less than $100/mo. on gas usually, I'm not fretting a few bucks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Do you go to work without driving? (I guess that’s doable in North Bay where you live.)

As for swimmer_spe, lol...

I wont need the Maley Dr extension to get to work, but it will be nice when it is open.

As far as my commute, I bought a new car that is about half my truck's fuel mileage. As far as gas prices, don't get me started! How can gas be 10 cents cheaper in Sturgeon Falls? Don't give me that natives taxes bs, as it only applies to those who have a Status card, so they should be collecting taxes from the rest of us.

swimmer_spe · #**3751** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 1:22 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Now I can see where your nuanced view on politics (especially insistence on healthcare and prudent spending)* comes from.

People like you and MonctonRad are really in a tough spot.
* If that sentence doesn’t make sense, it’s probably because I’m trying to fit a bunch of words in it.

Assuming that 40L gets you to go 400 km, you only need 2.5 fill-ups.

Gas price at $1.3/L.

$1.3/L * 40 L/ 400 km * 1000 km = $130 per month. It’s not too bad compared to the huge reduction in housing cost.

I get 7.7 l/100km. My commute is 150km round trip, and I work roughly 7 days in a 2 week period.

On average, I am now spending about $50 a week. I was spending $100-$150 a week with my truck.

wave46 · #**3752** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 1:30 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

For Sudbury, thankfully, I think we all agree that the economic case is there. Political one as well.

For North Bay, the economic case is stretching it.

For Thunder Bay, ...

I mean, if people aren’t bothered that TCH is the only link between Western and Eastern Canada...

I feel like a broken record, but why not.

You need 2 things for twinning a highway (or really any 'investment' by government).

1. A plausible economic/demand case - there has to be enough usage or benefit to justify the thing you want. It could be a community college, a twinned highway, a hospital, whatever. It's why Sensenbrenner Hospital in Kapuskasing doesn't have an MRI machine, why there's only a 2 lane highway through most of Northern Ontario, why Dryden doesn't host a university.

2. Political support. This is the person who will agitate on your behalf. For Highway 69, it was Rick Bartolucci who advocated tirelessly for it. When the Liberals took power, he was Minister of Northern Development and Mines. Nipissing was PC when the PCs were in power and Liberal when the Liberals were in power (until 2011).

Many of the Northern cities who helped keep the Liberals in power during that time got a lot of fancy new investments (hospitals, universities, highway expansion). The northern towns that went NDP didn't get nearly that much investment.

If both these factors work in concert together, investment is almost guaranteed. If one is weak, but the other is strong (as you mention, the highway to North Bay is economically weak, yet politically strong) one can aid the other. If there's active opposition to something (say, for instance, a proposed GTA West highway) it can scuttle what would otherwise be a slam-dunk from an economic case POV. If both are weak (as a twinned highway is in the North) it's a dead duck.

That's the rub with a twinned highway. The economic case is pretty weak (low AADT and high cost to build) and the rural regions that it passes through pretty much exclusively vote NDP (who hasn't been in government since 1995). Not exactly a winning recipe.

wave46 · #**3753** Posted **Oct 3, 2019, 1:37 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Now I can see where your nuanced view on politics (especially insistence on healthcare and prudent spending)* comes from.

People like you and MonctonRad are really in a tough spot.
* If that sentence doesn’t make sense, it’s probably because I’m trying to fit a bunch of words in it.

Assuming that 40L gets you to go 400 km, you only need 2.5 fill-ups.

Gas price at $1.3/L.

$1.3/L * 40 L/ 400 km * 1000 km = $130 per month. It’s not too bad compared to the huge reduction in housing cost.

No worries - your point is quite clear.

Yeah, living up here can be really great.

If you play your cards right, you can end up living really well. I distinguish this from living high, which is ephemeral.

I don't get why gas is so cheap in Sturgeon Falls either. Black magic, maybe?

DavefromSt.Vital · #**3754** Posted **Oct 9, 2019, 3:15 AM**

Hilton Garden Inn Sudbury now added to Hilton booking site. Opening April 2020:

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/ysb...n-inn-sudbury/

TbayON · #**3755** Posted **Oct 15, 2019, 6:49 PM**

THUNDER BAY

THUNDER BAY

A few T-Bay updates:

Marshall's opened at Intercity Mall today. The official statement from Intercity Mall is that they are still working to fill the balance of the space remaining from Sears at the moment.

The new Fedex building at Innova Park is scheduled to start imminently, if it hasn't started already.

The foundation for the new cargo shed at Keefer Terminal is well underway.

The new elementary school at the former Churchill High School site is now pretty well closed in.

The next phase of the Hillcrest Condos is starting soon, which will see the original school building visible from High St. renovated.

It appears the owner of the Harbour Crossing retail development on Fort William Rd. is trying to offload the property (for sale signs are up). The original developer only managed to get two buildings up of the original 6 or 7 that were planned for the site.

F. Lionel · #**3756** Posted **Oct 18, 2019, 12:58 PM**

Drove past Arthur Street Marketplace last night and the whole front of the mall has been deconstructed. New storefront or end of that side of the mall?

TbayON · #**3757** Posted **Oct 18, 2019, 4:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by F. Lionel

Drove past Arthur Street Marketplace last night and the whole front of the mall has been deconstructed. New storefront or end of that side of the mall?

The interior corridor is being removed so that it is no longer a "mall". All storefronts will have access off of the parking lots now, much like you'd see at The Thunder Centre. I'm not sure what is happening with the smaller retailers that operate out of the mall currently.

TbayON · #**3758** Posted **Oct 21, 2019, 9:01 PM**

THUNDER BAY

I'm hearing that the successful project manager has been selected for construction of the new jail facility, but no agreement/deal has been signed as of yet.

A new general contractor/project manager has taken over the Thunder Bay Country Club condo project (again). Time will tell if it'll actually get done this time. Some foundation work is planned this fall/winter, construction of the actual structure would start in spring.

swimmer_spe · #**3759** Posted **Oct 30, 2019, 10:09 PM**

I heard a rumour.

I heard that the Costco in Sudbury is either moving, or a new one is coming. It is supposed to be built in the South End where the Walmart is so they will be able to put in gas pumps. Anyone know if this is true?

F. Lionel · #**3760** Posted **Oct 31, 2019, 12:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

I heard a rumour.

Since we are discussing rumours, has anyone heard any of the rumours about the Eaton's building in Thunder Bay?

I've heard both the insane (an Amazon facility of some sort) to the mundane (main floor marketplace concept).